NHL pre-season doesn’t matter? Try telling that to a handful of Leafs who have had their fortunes – and NHL candidacy – affected by the previous four weeks of training camp and were rewarded (or punished) accordingly as the club announced their opening night roster.
Matt Frattin, Jake Gardiner, Carl Gunnarsson and Philippe Dupuis were among those whose September efforts paid off, while Ke...

As with any training camp, the prominent story on the Leafs’ blue line this September has been one of the fringes. That is, who can hold on to a spot in time for next Thursday’s opener and who finds themselves suiting up down the street at Ricoh Coliseum. The problem with that focus is that it ignores the bigger picture: Toronto is chockfull of young, inexpensive blue line depth.
Regardless...

The Kaberle Trade Keeps Giving
A trade that already looked good for Toronto grew that much sweeter on Friday, as the Leafs used their 2012 second rounder acquired from Boston in the Tomas Kaberle deal to lure John-Michael Liles over from Colorado.
Now, there’s no point in trying to provide even a semblance of analysis on a swap where the involved parties won’t even be fully revealed until n...

For a club poised to face immediate 0-7-1 questions with any result other than a season-opening win, it was big for the Leafs to get the first ‘w’ right off the bat last night against Montreal.
But beyond two points in the bag and a nice moment for opening scorer Tim Brent, what did it mean? I won’t be running this piece after every Leafs game, but I will try to post it as often as possib...

No ten game wait this year, at least thanks to the superb play of J.S. Giguere. Looking like the proven winner he is, Giguere closed the door on Brian Gionta as the Canadien's Captain looked to tie the game with the net empty and the extra attacker on the ice. Something the Leafs have lacked in the last few seasons, Giguere seemed to carry his teammates on his back at the most crucial moment. A...

As any Leafs fan knows, Tomas Kaberle has survived yet another heavy round of trade speculation and, now that his no-trade clause has come back into effect, will remain in the blue and white once training camp opens next month.
Here are a few random thoughts on the deal that wasn’t:
Keeping an established, puck-moving defenceman is a bad thing?
I know that Leafs Nation is anxious to see their...

Another huge shot output was not enough to catapult the Leafs into the win category against the Sabres.
It seems as though a barrage of shots on net is not the answer for the Leafs scoring woes this season. For the 10th straight games, the Leafs put up 30+ shots last night only to be shut out by Ryan Miller who is currently the best goalie in the National Hockey League.
Miller made some rid...

The Maple Leafs have released the 24 players that will be playing in the annual rookie tournament held this year in Kitchener, Ontario.
As per mapleleafs.com, the Leafs have announced the 24 players that will partake in the annual rookie tournament which will be held starting on September 6. The tournament will see a team lead by Marlies coaches Dallas Eakins, Gord Dineen and Derek King face o...